The Worst Transfers (and a couple good ones!)

 Hey friends!

Two blog posts ago, I showed what I think the worst bus stops in Toronto were. While I promised the next part would be the worst stops in the Greater Toronto Area, I have decided that I will do this first. Today we'll be looking at the best and worst transfers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. When using a transit system, there is an expectation that multiple routes or services will have to be used. Transit systems can make this easier by locating stops conveniently, or building hubs where multiple services connect. Just because they can, however, does not mean they do! Unfortunately, by choice, in addition to compounding factors, there are a number of places in the region that are not easy to make transfers. This blog post will explore some of the worst, but we will share some good news in the form of some of the best at the end.

The Worst Transfers

I want to start by noting that Islington Station and Warden Station are terrible for transfers, but they will not be here as they are soon to be rebuilt to be AODA-compliant. I also won't mention walking transfers: while they are valid, more-often-then-not, they are seldom used due to the distance that needs to be covered. What constitutes a walking transit is not clearly defined, either.

Wilson Station

I have to start with Wilson Station because I transfer here regularly. Let's pretend I get off the subway train and need to board a westbound 96 Wilson bus. I descend a floor, cross the concourse, descend another floor, walk along a walkway under the Allen, ascend a floor to reach the eastbound buses level, then another to reach the westbound buses level. While this can be done in a minute or two, the level changes are quite annoying, and it can be very annoying for those who require use of the station's new elevators. I good retrofit for this station would be a stair up from the subway platform, over the Allen, then down to the westbound buses level. I will never complain about a new footbridge!

Highway 407 Station

I want to preface that Highway 407 Station is a convenient link, and I use it a lot. That said, the main purpose of switching from the subway to GO buses at surface level is difficult. It has more to do with the overbuilt nature of the station: like the other TYSSE stations, it's incredibly deep, and takes a couple of minutes to surface. There is reasoning for this: the subway has to be super deep under York as to not fuck around with lab equipment, and it would be too steep an incline to get this stop closer to (or on) the surface. I'll be optimistic, I think this station will eventually be busy enough to justify the size.

Bad Intersections

Now of course, not every transfer is done at a station. While most intersections require crossing the street once or twice, some are far worse. I will quickly list a few of the ones I hate transferring at.

• From TTC route 93 Parkview Hills southbound to 91 Woodbine/70 O'Connor northbound.
• As the 93 uses Sandra Road, instead of St Clair, a bit of a walk is involved, and crossing at St Clair and O'Connor is tough due to the alignment, increasing crossing distance.
• To/from TTC route 46 Martin Grove from/to 32 Eglinton West.
• Eglinton here is basically an exit ramp off the 401, and cars speed. Little consideration is given to pedestrians, and stops not consistently on the near-side or far-side force crossing. In particular, the eastbound 32 stop shelter is regularly destroyed by cars careening through it. So there's that.
• From TTC route 37B Islington northbound to 60 Steeles West eastbound.
• This one is complicated due to where the loop sits. The 37B must first sit and wait to turn left, then loop through the loop before letting off passengers. Passengers can then get off, walk east on Steeles, and then cross the street to get on the 60. During the evenings, when services are infrequent, a lot of time is wasted actually transferring. I have proposed that the loop be extended to replace the gas station, so that there can be an ingress/egress point on Islington. No dice.

The Good

It's easy to complain, but I can give credit where it's due. Here are two transfers that I find to be well-designed and convenient when switching modes.

Old Mill Station

Now, I may be biased because this is my favourite subway station. BUT! Switching from the 66 bus to the subway is easy: you get dropped in front of the station entrance, enter the station, and descend one set of stairs right onto the platform. Easy.

Willis Way Station, Waterloo

This one is my favourite place to switch at. As can be seen in the picture below, the GRT 5 Erb eastbound and 16 Strasburg-Belmont serve the left side of the platform (on street), and ION the right. As such, you simply get off one, walk across the platform, and onto the other. Very little movement is required: I'm glad GRT thought about connectivity when building this line.

So Close to Good: Kipling Station

Kipling Station is a mix of good and bad. Good: switching from the TTC buses to the subway, and vice versa is easy. The subway platform is directly below the bus bay, and so it requires a short flight of stairs up to transfer. I think this is the best station for transferring in Toronto, to be honest.

The bad deals with switching to services at Kipling Terminal, serving MiWay and GO Transit. This terminal is located at Subway Crescent, a bit of a distance from the station itself. Hydro One refused to let the terminal be built under their hydro wires, hence it had to be moved west. While there is a linkage through a pedestrian tunnel, it's long and boring and takes a few minutes to cross. This is a huge issue when making tight transfers, especially when headways on GO's route 29 to Guelph Central Station are hourly at best. Many customers on MiWay's 3 Bloor and 26 Burhamthorpe alight at Dundas and Aukland, and walk into the station from there. They can usually get on a train earlier than if they had stayed on to the terminal and walked it.

Personally, I wished TTC, Metrolinx, and MiWay just got together and agreed to extend the subway one stop to Cloverdale instead of building this terminal. That way, all routes could share a singular, large terminal directly above the subway platform, and many services would immediately enter Highway 427 instead of having to gun down Dundas for a bit.